Suzanne Staggenborg

Frontiers in social movement theory

Social protest movements such as the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement mobilize and sustain themselves in ways that have long been of interest to social scientists. In this book some of the most distinguished scholars in the area of collective action present new theories about this process, fashioning a rich and conceptually sophisticated social psychology of social movements that goes beyond theories currently in use. The book includes sometimes competing, sometimes complementary paradigms by theorists in resource mobilization, conflict, feminism, and collective action and by social psychologists and comparativists. These authors view the social movement actor from a more sociological perspective than do adherents of rational choice theory, and they analyze ways in which structural and cultural determinants influence the actor and generate or inhibit collective action and social change. The authors state that the collective identities and political consciousness of social movement actors are significantly shaped by their race, ethnicity, class, gender, or religion. Social structure--with its disparities in resources and opportunities--helps determine the nature of grievances, resources, and levels of organization. The book not only distinguishes the mobilization processes of consensus movements from those of conflict movements but also helps to explain the linkages between social movements, the state, and societal changes.

Movements, Countermovements, and the Structure of Political Opportunity

Movement-countermovement interaction is an ongoing feature of contemporary social movements and, indeed, of contemporary politics. Yet the interplay of contending movements is understudied and undertheorized. This article begins to remedy this deficit by arguing that new work on political opportunity structure provides important insights and significant theoretical leverage for this study. Through a review of the literatures on countermovements and political opportunity, this article argues that this interaction increases when states enable but do not satisfy challengers. This article presents a general framework of theoretical propositions for understanding the interplay of movements and their opponents to animate and guide subsequent research.

Coalition Work in the Pro-Choice Movement: Organizational and Environmental Opportunities and Obstacles

This paper examines inter-organizational cooperation and competition in the abortion rights, or pro-choice, movement. Drawing on documents and interviews with activists from 13 movement organizations and six coalitions formed nationally and in Illinois between 1966 and 1983, I show that coalitions are likely to form under conditions of exceptional opportunity or threat. Individual pro-choice organizations also formed coalitions when they lacked the resources to meet environmental opportunities or threats, or when such coalition work allowed them to conserve resources for their own individual programs. On the other hand, ideological conflicts and competition between the maintenance needs of individual organizations versus those of coalitions led to coalition dissolution. I also found that tensions within coalitions were alleviated by external funding and/or aid from established organizations, by an organizational structure which allowed for different levels of contributions from organizations with varying interests in the work of the coalition, and by a continued focus on activities (e.g., lobbying) which are too expensive for any one movement organization to carry out alone.

Social Movement Communities and Cycles of Protest: The Emergence and Maintenance of a Local Women's Movement

Social movement theorists have argued that multiple movements emerge during cycles of protest in response to political opportunities. This article develops the concept of a “social movement community” and contends that the culture and community of a protest cycle, rather than political opportunities, attract many participants and provide organizational and tactical opportunities for new movements. I examine historical changes in the local womens movement community in Bloomington, Indiana, to explain how some movements are able to endure, and even thrive, after the decline of a protest cycle; their individual movement communities sustain activists and sometimes partially recreate the atmosphere of a protest cycle.

Stability and Innovation in the Women's Movement: A Comparison of Two Movement Organizations

This paper examines the effects of organizational structure and ideology on the mobilization and tactics of social movement organizations (SMOs). Documentary and interview data on two heal movement organizations, the Chicago Womens Liberation Union (CWLU) and the Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women (Chicago NOW), are used to provide a detailed account of the ways in which SMOs deal with organizational problems. I argue that the informal, decentralized structure of the now defunct CWLU, together with its ideological approach, encouraged strategic and tactical innovation, but undermined organizational maintenance. Chicago NOWs more formalized and centralized structure facilitated organizational maintenance, but led to a narrowing of strategies and tactics. Successful social movements are likely to include both types of organizational structures.

BEYOND CULTURE VERSUS POLITICS: A Case Study of a Local Women's Movement

This article goes beyond the debate over whether culture competes with politics in the womens movement to explore the complex relationship between cultural and political action. A case study of the local womens movement in Bloomington, Indiana, provides little evidence that cultural feminism led to a decline in political activity in the womens movement. Rather, the attractiveness of cultural and political activities changes with shifts in political opportunities. During periods of opportunity or threat that stimulate extensive action, activists are energized for both cultural and political projects. During “slow” periods when there are few opportunities to make political gains, cultural projects are particularly attractive to feminists and may compete with political activities. However, cultural activities also help to maintain a feminist collective identity and provide networks to political groups. Ongoing political action is provoked by countermovement actions and other critical events and supported by “outsiders” who bring new ideas to a local community, national feminist organizations, and feminists within local institutions.

Opposing movement strategies in U.S. abortion politics

Activists make strategic decisions about how to pursue their claims, but strategy is hard to study and the topic is underdeveloped theoretically. Here, we contribute to the developing academic literature on social movement strategy by offering a theoretical framework that emphasizes three distinct, albeit interrelated, movement choices: arenas of action, advocacy tactics, and demands. This framework allows us to infer strategy at the movement level through the analysis of events data. Using events data from the New York Times from 1959 to 1996, in conjunction with historical accounts of abortion politics in the United States, we analyze the development of the strategies of the anti-abortion and abortion rights movements. We demonstrate the utility of this framework, and show how movement strategies are affected by both political opportunities and the actions of countermovements, whose activists respond to the same political opportunities. We conclude with a discussion of the complications of assessing movement strategy and call for more research on the topic.

Media Framing of the Pittsburgh G-20 Protests

Purpose – Movements typically have great difficulty using the mass media to spread their messages to the public, given the medias greater power to impose their frames on movement activities and goals. In this paper, we look at the impact of the political context and media strategies of protesters against the 2009 G-20 meetings in Pittsburgh on media coverage of the protests. Methodology – We employ field observations, interviews with activists and reporters, and a content analysis of print coverage of the demonstrations by the two local daily newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Findings – We find that protesters were relatively successful in influencing how they were portrayed in local newspaper stories and in developing a sympathetic image of their groups’ members. Specifically, we find that activist frames were present in newspaper coverage and activists were quoted as frequently as city officials. Research implications – We argue that events such as the G-20 meetings provide protesters with opportunities to gain temporary “standing” with the media. During such times, activists can use tactics and frames to alter the balance of power in relations with the media and the state and to attract positive media coverage, particularly when activists develop strategies that are not exclusively focused on the media. We argue that a combination of political opportunities and activist media strategies enabled protest organizers to position themselves as central figures in the G-20 news story and leverage that position to build media interest, develop relationships with reporters, and influence newspaper coverage.

New environmentalism and Transition Pittsburgh

‘New environmentalism’ refers to efforts to create social and economic sustainability in local communities, emphasizing ‘Green entrepreneurship’ as a means of achieving its goals. New environmentalism is the type of diffuse, fluid movement not typically studied by social movement researchers. As a worldwide network of groups aiming to create sustainable communities, Transition exemplifies new environmentalism. This study examines the local Transition initiative in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using participant observation and in-depth interviews. We argue that the group’s fluid structure attracts grass-roots members, but may ultimately undermine its efficacy in mobilizing a social movement to achieve collective goals. Transition Pittsburgh’s entrepreneurial orientation and commitment to the open space model of organizing support a fluid movement, but limit its capacity to devise strategies and grow as an organization.

Culture and Ritual in the Montreal Women's Movement

This paper focuses on how culture and ritual in social movements can be forms of protest or conduits to contentious politics. Based on the Montreal cases of the anglophone womens performance scene in the 1990s and the 2000 World March of Women campaign, we argue that the context in which culture is produced and consumed affects its political character and potential. Networks among activists and organizations in social movement communities affect the extent to which participants interpret and use cultural productions and rituals to support political change. Movement campaigns play an important role in giving political meaning to cultural rituals and providing opportunities for participants in cultural activities to become involved in contentious political action.